Create Your Invoice
Contributor
Reviewed ByAdam Ramirez, J.D.
Editor
Generate a professional invoice for any business — itemize services or products, calculate taxes, set payment terms, and include a late fee clause. Whether you're a contractor, consultant, freelancer, or shop owner, your invoice is ready to send in minutes.
Trusted by 50,000+ small businesses and independent professionals
- 8
- Steps
- 50
- States Covered
- 2026
- Updated
What's Included in This Invoice
This form generates a complete, professional invoice with your business details, client billing information, itemized services or products, tax calculations, payment terms, and optional late fee provisions. It is intentionally universal — every field works for any trade, from a one-person consultancy to a crew billing materials and labor. Under general commercial law, an invoice needs no signature or notarization to be valid — it is a unilateral billing document, and this template includes every element the IRS and commercial clients expect (IRS Publication 583).
Universal Line Items
Pre-built suggestions that fit any business: Services Rendered, Labor, Materials & Supplies, Products / Goods, Travel or Delivery Fee, and Expense Reimbursement. Add unlimited custom lines. Each line auto-calculates the amount from quantity and rate — and separating goods from services on distinct lines can reduce the tax you must collect in states that exempt services.
Flexible Payment Terms
Set clear expectations with configurable terms — Due on Receipt, Net 15, Net 30, Net 45, Net 60, or custom. The optional late fee clause encourages timely payment; the default 1.5% per month is the B2B industry standard and sits safely within every state's limits (even capped states allow more — Delaware permits 5% per month, Del. Code tit. 6, § 2301).
Your Trade, On the Document
Add an optional Business Type — "Consulting," "Landscaping," "Retail" — displayed under your business name, plus a Service / Delivery Location for job sites or delivery addresses that differ from the billing address. A generic template that reads like it was made for your business.
Four Invoice Types
Standard invoices for one-time jobs, recurring invoices with billing cycle and next invoice date, final invoices that signal project completion, and estimates for pre-work pricing. Estimates are marked non-binding with a "Valid Until" date — under contract law, a quote is an invitation to negotiate, not a binding offer (Restatement (Second) of Contracts § 26).
Goods and Services Are Taxed Differently
Tangible goods are taxable in all 45 sales-tax states plus DC, while services are exempt by default in most states unless specifically enumerated (four states tax services broadly: Hawaii, New Mexico, South Dakota, West Virginia). Five states have no sales tax at all. The form suggests a rate based on your state — always verify with your accountant or state tax authority.
Invoices Are Not Contracts
An invoice is a billing document requesting payment — it does not define scope of work, cancellation policies, or liability terms, and it requires no signature to be valid. If you need to establish the terms of a working relationship, create a separate service agreement or contract first, then invoice against it.
One Template, Every Business
Whether you bill hours, products, projects, or all three, this invoice adapts to how you work and who you bill.
Trades & Field Services
Contractors, handymen, repair techs, and installers can split labor from materials on separate lines — which matters in states that tax materials and labor differently — and pin every invoice to a job site with the Service / Delivery Location field.
Consultants & Professionals
Bill hourly engagements, retainers, or project fees with clean, itemized descriptions that corporate accounts payable can process without follow-up. Include your EIN so clients can meet their 1099-NEC reporting obligations (required for payments of $600+ per year, 26 U.S.C. § 6041A).
Product & Retail Sellers
Invoice wholesale orders, custom goods, or delivered products with quantity-based line items and automatic tax calculation — goods are taxable in every sales-tax state, so the suggested state rate gives you a correct starting point.
Recurring Service Providers
Set a billing cycle and next invoice date for weekly, monthly, or quarterly clients. A consistent, dated invoice trail documents the payment pattern — valuable evidence if a long-standing account ever disputes what was agreed.
Getting Paid Faster
A professional, detailed invoice reduces disputes and accelerates payment. These features help you get paid on time — every time.
Clear Payment Terms
Set specific due dates so clients know exactly when payment is expected. The due date is not just a courtesy — it is the reference point for late fees and starts the clock on your legal right to collect (statutes of limitations for written accounts run 3–10 years by state, e.g., 4 years in California, Cal. Civ. Proc. Code § 337).
Late Fee Enforcement
The built-in late fee clause — 1.5% per month by default — gives you leverage when following up on overdue invoices. Courts enforce late fees that are reasonable rather than punitive (liquidated damages doctrine, Restatement (Second) of Contracts § 356), and the default is safely within every state's limits.
Detailed Line Items
Itemized invoices with clear descriptions, quantities, and rates eliminate "what is this charge for?" conversations. If an invoice ever goes unpaid, the itemization is your primary evidence in a breach-of-contract or account-stated claim.
Transparent Tax Calculations
Showing the tax rate and calculated amount separately builds trust and professionalism. Clients can verify the math, and commercial accounts need visible tax breakdowns for their own bookkeeping and deductions.
Best value
ConsumerShield Premium
Save $40 vs monthly
- Unlimited legal-form generation while active
- Unlimited guide unlocks across every available state
- Completed PDFs stay in your library
Invoice Template
- Works for any trade or industry
- Universal line items — services, products, labor, materials
- Automatic tax & total calculations
- All 50 states supported
- One-time, recurring & final invoice types
- Late fee clause included
- Instant PDF download
Did you know?
Did you know?
Late payments cost US small businesses billions every year — and most of it is preventable with better paperwork. Research shows that invoices sent within 24 hours of completing the work are paid significantly faster than those sent a week later, and invoices with specific terms like "Net 15" instead of vague language like "pay when you can" cut average days-to-payment by nearly two weeks. Adding a late fee clause — even one you rarely enforce — measurably reduces late payments. And because an invoice is the primary evidence of the amount owed if you ever need to collect, the IRS and commercial practice alike expect sequential numbering and retained copies for at least 3 years (IRS Publication 583; 26 U.S.C. § 6501). A professional, itemized invoice is not just a billing document — it is the single most effective tool a small business has for getting paid on time.
Featured — Spotlight
Tax rates tailored to your state.
What you must charge depends on where you work and what you sell. Tangible goods are taxable in all 45 sales-tax states plus DC — from Texas (6.25%, Tex. Tax Code § 151.051) to New York (4% plus local, N.Y. Tax Law § 1105(a)) to California (7.25%, Cal. Rev. & Tax. Code § 6051). Services flip the rule: most states exempt them by default, while four tax nearly all services (Hawaii's general excise tax, Haw. Rev. Stat. § 237-13; New Mexico's gross receipts tax, N.M. Stat. § 7-9-3.5; South Dakota, S.D. Codified Laws § 10-45-4; West Virginia, W. Va. Code § 11-15-8), and many others tax specific enumerated services. Five states — Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, and Oregon — have no state sales tax at all. This invoice auto-suggests your state's general rate, but mixed goods-and-services transactions follow your state's "true object" test — always verify with your state's department of revenue or a tax professional.
What people are saying
One invoice, every job
Join small businesses and independent professionals who bill with confidence
"I do a bit of everything — handyman work, small remodels, the occasional appliance install — so trade-specific invoice apps never fit. This one lets me put "Home Repair Services" under my business name and split labor from materials on every job. Clients stopped asking questions and started paying faster."
Derek M.
Nashville, TN
"I run a small marketing consultancy and needed clean invoices with my EIN on them so corporate clients could process payment without emailing me a W-9 request every time. The Net 30 terms and the late fee line did more for my cash flow than any follow-up email ever did."
Priya S.
Denver, CO
"We sell custom furniture and deliver across three counties. Being able to list the pieces as product line items, add a delivery fee, and show the tax calculation separately makes us look like a much bigger operation. The delivery address field means every invoice matches a specific order."
Tom & Elena R.
Tampa, FL
Business Law Knowledge Base
No topics match your search.
Support
Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know about our invoice template
An invoice is a billing document sent from a business, freelancer, or seller to a client requesting payment for services performed or goods delivered. It includes your business information, the client's billing details, itemized line items with quantities and rates, applicable taxes, payment terms, and the total amount due. Legally, an invoice is a commercial document, not a contract — it requires no signature or notarization to be valid (general commercial law; UCC Article 2 governs the underlying sale for goods). It does not define scope of work or terms of service — it is strictly a request for payment.
It depends on what you sell and where. Tangible goods are taxable in all 45 sales-tax states plus DC (e.g., Tex. Tax Code § 151.051; N.Y. Tax Law § 1105(a)). Services are exempt by default in most states, though Hawaii, New Mexico, South Dakota, and West Virginia tax services broadly, and many states tax specific enumerated services. Five states (Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, Oregon) have no state sales tax. The invoice auto-suggests a rate based on your state, but incorrect collection can result in penalties — verify with your state's tax authority or an accountant.
Due on Receipt or Net 15 is recommended for consumer clients and one-time jobs. Net 30 is the standard for commercial accounts, which process invoices on monthly cycles. Always pair your terms with a late fee clause — late fees are enforceable when reasonable rather than punitive (Restatement (Second) of Contracts § 356), and the built-in 1.5% per month default is within every state's limits, including the few with statutory caps (Delaware, Del. Code tit. 6, § 2301; Florida, Fla. Stat. § 687.01; Minnesota, Minn. Stat. § 334.01).
Yes — that is the point of the universal template. It works for trades and field services, consultants and professionals, product sellers, and recurring service providers. The optional Business Type field labels the invoice for your industry, and the universal line items (Services Rendered, Labor, Materials & Supplies, Products / Goods, Travel or Delivery Fee, Expense Reimbursement) cover any billing scenario. If you want deeper trade-specific presets, ConsumerShield also offers dedicated invoices for cleaning, construction, plumbing, photography, freelance, landscaping, catering, roofing, consulting, and DJ services.
An invoice requests payment for work already performed or goods delivered. An estimate (or quote) is a projected cost sent before work begins — and under contract law, a price quotation is generally an invitation to negotiate rather than a binding offer (Restatement (Second) of Contracts § 26). This form's Estimate / Quote type marks the document accordingly and replaces the due date with a "Valid Until" date. Send the estimate first, then create a standard invoice after the work is completed.
At least 3 years — that is the IRS assessment window for most returns (26 U.S.C. § 6501), and IRS Publication 583 recommends retaining supporting business records accordingly. Keep invoices up to 7 years if you may claim a bad-debt deduction for an unpaid one. Your invoices also support collection claims, where statutes of limitations run 3–10 years depending on the state.
ConsumerShield Premium
Unlimited legal forms and guide unlocks.
Prefer monthly? $20/mo — choose at checkout.
- Unlimited legal-form generation while active
- Unlimited guide unlocks across every available state
- Completed PDFs stay in your library
- Best for frequent document and guide work
Everything included
- Unlimited legal-form generation while active
- Unlimited guide unlocks across every available state
- Completed PDFs stay in your library
- Best for frequent document and guide work
Subscribe
$200/yrSave $40 vs monthly ·
Subscribe & save
Invoice Template